What does mathematics mean to me? How should It be taught in middle level education? What do I believe works or not works? What are good practices? What is the role of the teacher?
Math is a difficult subject to describe, but I believe it is essential to life. Everyday people use math to function, most careers require math research or understanding. The objects we use are possible because of many mathematical practice. Math should be respected and taught very delicately. What's Math Got to Do with it?, describes the typical math experience for most students. Generally people do not have good memories of Math in school. Further, "math classrooms leave students cold, disinterested, or traumatized" (Boaler, 42). I know I struggled in math and found it overwhelming. Math students should find math refreshing.
Math is used to describe the world and should be taught with great importance and with practical applications. With any subject the teacher should apply their lessons to the students. The students should feel connected to the objective or subject being covered in class. Every student should be included when teaching math. The classroom should contain students who are actively engaged in the classroom. I often find teachers will only teach to certain styles. In a classroom, I believe the students have several different types of learning styles. Some are visual learners, and listening to a teacher lecture is challenging. Other students are kinesthetic learners that benefit from a physical movement in the classroom. Staying seated in a chair for an entire period would be difficult to them. I believe it is the teachers responsibility to discover each student's learning style. In addition, the teacher should educate each of their students so that they Learning about math wars, I find traditional math is memorizing and repeating.
Journal 2
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (2014). Principles to Actions: Ensuring mathematics success for all. Reston, VA: Author: http://www.nctm.org/PrinciplestoActions
Upon reading the first half, there are a few things I would like to reflect on. The book states that effective math classroom should contain students who are socializing, since mathematics is learned through conversation. Often, students comprehend math from fellow classmates more than the teacher. In fact, when students explain particular steps to other students they greater understand the process of math. Particularly, "Students need to be actively involved in learning and they need to be engaged in a broad form of mathematics using and applying methods, and representing and communicating ideas" (PTA pg 83). I agree with this statement, but how can this task be effectively completed? I am learning about the several standards and assessments that must be administered, which are indeed beneficial to the students. As a teacher it is my responsibility to figure out this answer. Although, my subject field is not math this particular quote is applicable to every subject matter. All students need to be actively involved in learning and engaged in the subject they are studying. The subject should be presented with various methods in which students should be able to communicate ideas.
In addition, the book stresses the importance of the teachers role in the classroom. The authors detail the specific behaviors which I found to be very beneficial. For example, "For students to learn mathematics with understanding, they must have opportunities to engage on a regular basis with tasks that focus on reasoning and problem solving and make possible multiple entry points and varied solution strategies" (PTA, pg 23). Students learn from doing, not from copying what the teacher wrote on the board. Creating a learning environment that includes problem solving will help guide my students to success. You can also apply these ideas to any discipline as a teacher as stated before. I am a firm believer that practice makes perfect, although perfection can be measured in several ways since each student is an individual that has different abilities to contribute to the world.
In addition, the book stresses the importance of the teachers role in the classroom. The authors detail the specific behaviors which I found to be very beneficial. For example, "For students to learn mathematics with understanding, they must have opportunities to engage on a regular basis with tasks that focus on reasoning and problem solving and make possible multiple entry points and varied solution strategies" (PTA, pg 23). Students learn from doing, not from copying what the teacher wrote on the board. Creating a learning environment that includes problem solving will help guide my students to success. You can also apply these ideas to any discipline as a teacher as stated before. I am a firm believer that practice makes perfect, although perfection can be measured in several ways since each student is an individual that has different abilities to contribute to the world.
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